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Superlucky · 10-20-2009, 05:13 PM

Hello, eGeezer. Let me give it a try.

My Sony PRS-505 has more than paid for itself with free reading material. Thousands of beautifully-formatted public domain books, free books from self-published authors on Smashwords and Feedbooks and free newspapers and magazines that I get with calibre's "Fetch news" feature have more than made up for the couple hundred bucks I spent on the device. That's not to mention the brand new books that I get for less than $10 that are only available in hardback.

You're right that if you can find something at a used bookstore it's most likely cheaper there than as an ebook (unless it's a classic - then the ebook is free). However, you can't fit a thousand of those books in your carry-on, and unless you have a few rooms you're not using in your house there's a limit to how many you can own.

You don't have to give up p-books when you buy a dedicated device any more than you have to give up vinyl when you buy an iPod. They each have their place. I like that whenever I'm stuck waiting (for a friend, at the doctor, getting an oil change, etc.) that I can choose from a huge library of books to read while I wait. "Waiting" for me now means reading (free) Dostoevsky and listening to Beethoven. Try lugging around The Brothers Karamazov in paper format.

10-20-2009, 05:13 PM	#2
Superlucky Fanatic Posts: 581 Karma: 5952 Join Date: Aug 2009 Device: PRS-505, PRS-350	Hello, eGeezer. Let me give it a try. My Sony PRS-505 has more than paid for itself with free reading material. Thousands of beautifully-formatted public domain books, free books from self-published authors on Smashwords and Feedbooks and free newspapers and magazines that I get with calibre's "Fetch news" feature have more than made up for the couple hundred bucks I spent on the device. That's not to mention the brand new books that I get for less than $10 that are only available in hardback. You're right that if you can find something at a used bookstore it's most likely cheaper there than as an ebook (unless it's a classic - then the ebook is free). However, you can't fit a thousand of those books in your carry-on, and unless you have a few rooms you're not using in your house there's a limit to how many you can own. You don't have to give up p-books when you buy a dedicated device any more than you have to give up vinyl when you buy an iPod. They each have their place. I like that whenever I'm stuck waiting (for a friend, at the doctor, getting an oil change, etc.) that I can choose from a huge library of books to read while I wait. "Waiting" for me now means reading (free) Dostoevsky and listening to Beethoven. Try lugging around The Brothers Karamazov in paper format. Last edited by Superlucky; 10-20-2009 at 05:18 PM.